


Grocery Shopping at Three in the Morning

by strawberrylemonade1225



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bullying, Developing Friendships, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21542857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylemonade1225/pseuds/strawberrylemonade1225
Summary: Jonah Beck has a problem. He has an internet friend that he could very easily find out the identity of but is scared to. On top of that, he deals with bullies on a day to day basis. The problem in question, however, is how he suddenly finds out that his main bully is a lot more connected to his life than he had previously thought.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	1. The Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so I know I very inconsistently post, but that's because I'm more into original writing as opposed to fic writing now. Either way, I hope that those who read this enjoy it, and thank you very much for taking your time to read this!!
> 
> (Also! Any trigger warnings will be found in these notes in the beginning! vvv)
> 
> Trigger warning for chapter: Bullying, violence

The wind was on  _ just  _ that edge of bitey when Jonah stepped out of his house, causing him to immediately retreat back inside for a blanket. When exiting his house once again, more prepared with a blanket in hand, he sat down on his porch swing, sitting sideways with his back leaning against the armrest. He lay the blanket over his legs, trusting his sweater to keep his arms and chest warm enough.

Now, the finishing piece: his cellphone. He pulled out his cellphone and opened up his messages, corners of his mouth turning up when he sees the unopened message from five minutes earlier.

**PR:** This sermon is ridiculously boring. I think my sister is asleep beside me but I think I'm too tired to turn my head and look at her.

Jonah giggled under his breath as he typed his response.

**JB:** cause an uprising!!! shout!!! give into your impulsive thoughts!!!!

Their response came ridiculously fast, especially considering the fact that they were supposed to be paying attention to the preacher. Jonah squinted at the church across the street and down the road from him, like PR could feel his disapproving stare from his porch.

**PR:** If I did that, I would be kicked out. My sister once got up and stormed out of a sermon and she got grounded for a month. It wasn't pretty.

**JB:** yikes… why did she do that?

**PR:** It was one of those obligatory hate speech sermons. I wanted to follow her really badly but I stayed put through sheer willpower.

**JB:** ahh….. sheer willpower….. you're so strong, P, i feel my heart stuttering in my chest 😍😍😍

**PR:** You're ridiculous. 

Jonah giggled once more at that message and the fact that PR was definitely embarrassed. After knowing them for a month (albeit only through text), Jonah knew that they got embarrassed whenever he jokingly flirted with them like that.

Across the street, there's a lot of commotion and chatter as people flooded out the church doors. Jonah watched the doors like a hawk, a small part of him hoping that he would be able to see PR coming out of the church, but knowing that he wouldn't be able to tell from here.

Still, though. He could have hope.

The last two people to leave were a girl with short blonde hair and a boy who Jonah believed was a ginger or brunet, although it was hard to tell from the distance. They both appeared to be pretty tall. And both of them were on their phones. 

Although it was pretty unrealistic, Jonah hoped that one of them were PR. Secretly, he hoped that the boy was PR. Then again, he wouldn't be unhappy if PR turned out to be the girl.

Shaking his head, he snapped himself out of his fantasy and stood up, grabbing his blanket and walking back inside. Despite his slight discouragement, he couldn't contain the small smile that pulled at his lips when he felt his phone vibrate, signaling a new message. 

***

Unfortunately, everything couldn't be as calm and happy for Jonah like texting his technical internet friend.

That was the thought that went through his head when his back collided with the lockers the next morning. He angled his head forward and held it stiff, making sure his head wouldn't connect with the lockers and cause more unnecessary pain. 

Jonah was no stranger to bullies. He had always attracted them, being loud mouthed, fidgety, and  _ not  _ white. However, he was sure those days were behind him when the great God of bullying left Peter Russo on his front doorstep. The boy hated him, vehemently, at that, and Jonah had no reason why, but nothing he had tried to do had stopped the problem. This bullying had been going on for a while now, long enough for Jonah to learn the dance of hatred and long enough just how to angle his head to avoid it colliding with the locker when he's shoved against it.

Still, though. Jonah was Jonah. Despite the numbing feeling that sprouted at his heart and ended at his fingertips with anger, he mustered up the confidence to look Peter in the face. Hard, angry lines lined his face. Keeping consistent with the routine they both knew so well, Jonah smiled, as bright as every morning, and spoke.

"Good morning, boys," he greeted, looking from the muscle (a.k.a. Garrett), the talker (a.k.a. Blake), and the king himself, Peter. Jonah smiled flirtatiously at Peter specifically, who stood in front of him with a sneer on his face. "Good morning, Peter. I missed you last night."

"Oh, you're so funny, Beck," Peter said, twisting his hand in Jonah's collar. Peter had never actually hit Jonah, which was rather shocking, honestly. He wasn't asking for him to hit him, actually the opposite, but still. Peter typically stood back and watched as Blake spewed insults and the occasional smack and Garrett laid on the punches. Peter, when particularly pissed, would shove Jonah grab Jonah by the collar of his shirt, like this moment.

"You smell like pot," Blake commented, laughing. "God, do you guys think he even showers? I bet he's too poor to afford a shower."

"Good one! That's original," Jonah commented and immediately regretted when Peter pulled him up and on his tiptoes. On one hand, Jonah was okay with that because it closed the gap in their heights and brought them nose to nose. On the other hand, it got Jonah's heart pumping with some mixture of embarrassment and fear. Luckily, though, Peter seemed to be in a forgiving mood, because he lifted him even higher before letting go of him. Landing back on his feet, he stumbled a little, clashing back against his lockers for support, barely angling his head in time to keep from smacking it.

"You've got a fresh mouth, don't you, Jonah? More like Stonah, if we're being honest," Blake said, causing a laugh from Peter and Garrett. "Sure would be a shame if someone were to  _ fix  _ that, wouldn't it be? Wouldn't that just be a  _ shame _ , Garrett?"

Peter stepped back and Garrett stepped forward. Jonah may be used to the steps of this dance, but familiarity never eased the pain. He doubles over and groans when Garrett socks him in the stomach. He winced when he grabbed his hair to lift his head and look him in the eye. Peter came around to the side and bent down so they were on eye level.

"We wouldn't have to do this if you just kept your mouth shut, you idiot."

Jonah swallowed his words and instead offered a tight lipped smile. He could feel some hairs being tugged from his skull. Thankfully, though, the bell rang, releasing him from this torture as Garrett let go of his hair in favor of smacking the side of his skull and walking off to his class. Blake walked with him, shouting a few more hurtful things his way. Peter shook his head and stood, and Jonah was quick to follow, grinning at him once more, tone pitching down and flirting.

"Have a good day at school, Peter."

Peter, already walking to his class, only acknowledged him by scoffing and continuing on his path. The grin on Jonah's face quickly dropped aa he turned to his locker, grabbing his Algebra II book and half running half walking to his class, cursing Blake, Garrett, and especially Peter under his breath.

***

**JB:** i love getting changed for gym and seeing the big ass bruise on my stomach :)

**PR:** Bullies again?

**JB:** of course, who else??

**JB:** literally what are they gaining by coming after me??? 

**JB:** absolutely nothing except a guilty conscious

It took PR a little while to respond to that message.

**PR:** I hope that they leave you alone.

**JB:** yeah, me too …

**PR:** I'm sure that they will!

***

For the rest of the day, Peter didn't bother him. Of course, his crew still followed Jonah around and mocked him, but Peter was a key character that was missing from the main events.

It happened, sometimes. Sometimes, it happened at length, where Jonah would be picked on by Peter's lackeys but not Peter himself. 

It was unexplained, and Jonah didn't really understand why Peter sometimes seemed to have something of a guilty conscious, but he honestly wasn't complaining. The less bullying the better, in his opinion. The downside, however, wasn't worth it.

Without Peter monitoring them, Garrett and Blake went at Jonah a little harsher, teeth bared and a bit sharper than usual, comments more cutting and punches a little harder.

Jonah stumbled forward a few steps when Garrett swung a heavy arm around his shoulders. His grip on his book bag straps tightened as walked toward the exit. So, so fucking close, but yet so far. The hallway was pretty empty too, which was a bad sign, because, at least, when there were witnesses, they wouldn't come after him so hard in fear of being reported.

"You on your way home?" Blake asked, tone so innocent. Jonah swallowed, but he smiled, looking over at him and nodding. "You should let us walk you there!"

Jonah waved his hands. "You don't have to go to that extent."

Garrett's arm tightened around him and he stumbled more, semi leaning into him. "We insist. It's the least we could do."

And, thus, Jonah wound up walking home with Garrett's arm around his shoulders and Blake walking backwards in front of them, talking as if this were normal.

Jonah knew what he was doing, though. Making normal conversation with woven in insults and cutting remarks. He was used to this aspect of their bullying. 

"God, I only got a 90 on Ms. Franklin's test today. I could've sworn I would've at least gotten a 95, I mean, this was the easier material," he said, eyes bouncing from Garrett to Jonah. "Jonah, what did you get?"

Before Jonah could respond, Garrett was speaking with an amused tone lacing his voice. "I saw your test score earlier. It was kinda rough, dude. Only a 72. You should probably get a tutor."

Jonah quirked his lips up in a smile that just bordered on hateful. "I'll think about it-"

"Woah, Garrett, don't be so rude!" Blake said, cutting Jonah off. "You know he doesn't have enough money for that."

"I'm sure he does, I mean, I've seen a lot of dudes coming in and out of his house. I think his mom's getting a lot business lately."

And so it went. Back and forth banter that tended to get underneath his skin. By the time he got home, Jonah's blood was boiling and he wanted to lash out. He grit his teeth and bit his tongue to keep from doing so, however, just walking, walking, walking with them.

He counted steps to tune out their insults as they just got worse. They turned towards attacks on his appearance, his sexuality, even his race. It got disgusting around Garrett and Blake. 

Funnily enough, Jonah  _ wished  _ for Peter to be there during times like this.

When they reach his house, Garrett sent Jonah off with a slap on his back hard enough to sting and to send him stumbling forward. Awkward on his feet and tripping over himself, he fell to his knees, scraping them on the concrete. He didn't even bother to turn around and look at Garrett and Blake as they cackled, murmuring under his breath, "See you tomorrow, boys."

***

**JB:** sorry for the late reply, school just finished

**JB:** how was ur day, tho?

**PR:** It was pretty okay. I'm just ready to be home.

**JB:** loser :P im already home!!!

**PR:** Wish I was there.

**JB:** u wish u were in my house ?? ;)

**PR:** That winky face does not apply to this situation. Wanting to meet a friend is Not a winky face applicable situation.

**JB:** Wow….. I'm just a Friend…. I'm Hurt…..

**PR:** Shut Up. You're a flirt and you're flustering me and I'm really not appreciating this.

**JB:** but it's so fun to fluster you!!!!!

***

"I don't know how I've never seen these bullies of yours. Every time I'm around you, they never even walk by," Cassandra said, sitting Jonah's desk, her feet still touching the floor even when sitting comfortably. Jonah looked up from the guitar that he had been absent mindedly plucking the strings of. He laughed at her words, and she gave him a bemused look in return. "What're you laughin' at?"

"Cass… honey… you're intimidating as all hell," he pointed out, and a look of understanding crossed her face. "A pack of three cowardly bullies seeing a six foot three girl who looks like she wants to set the world on fire near their victim marks that victim as safe in their eyes for the time being. They probably  _ do  _ come around but make sure to stay out of sight."

"Well…" she trailed off, a proud grin lining her lips. Jonah crossed his arms across his chest and smiled as well. "I've gotta say that I'm pretty intimidating. It's one of my  _ best  _ qualities."

"That, I agree with." He uncrossed his arms and continued to pluck at the strings. He had to tune it, but he really couldn't muster up the motivation, so some off tune plucking for the moment being would have to do. "Hey, do you have any plans on Saturday?"

Cassandra shook her head and crossed her legs on his desk, rattling and knocking over his pencil case. He looked at it, then at her, and sighed when she pretended not to notice. Getting up, he picked it up and placed it back on the desk, getting up in her face at the same time, grinning practically from ear to ear. 

"Dude, back up," she groaned, pushing him away with one hand on his face. He licked her palm and she kicked him lightly to push him away further. "What gives? What's happening Saturday?"

"Well, I was thinking that I could come over to your place and spend the night. I'll bring my guitar, rock out all night, plus we can play this new game I've got.  _ Plus- _ " He got in her face again, pouting this time "- I've never met your siblings, and you  _ know _ I've wanted to do that!"

"They're really not that cool, honestly," Cassandra responded, rolling her eyes. "Pete is this meek nerdy boy, so I'd be surprised if you can even get a word out of him, and Juno is either high or irritated all the time."

"Oh, so you?"

"Shut up." Cassandra hopped off the desk and stretched. "But fine, fine, if you insist. They should both be home then, but I think my mom'll be out. I'll ask Peter to cook us dinner or something."

"Oh, he cooks?" Jonah asks, suddenly all the more interested. "Like,  _ cooks _ cooks? Oh, my, a man absolutely after my heart. Cassandra, you've been holding out on me. What else does this brother of yours do?"

"Date girls," she answered. "Look, I feel for you, but I have never seen that boy show even the slightest bit of interest in boys, so your chances are slim to none. Plus, isn't it, like, in the bro code to not date your friend's siblings and shit? What's up with that?"

Jonah winced in response, taking wiping tears. "Alright, alright, I get it. Regardless! Saturday! I'm coming over around four-ish, so be ready!"

Cassandra grabbed her bag and headed for the door, giving him a two finger salute as she headed out. Upon hearing the front door slam, Jonah dropped back down on his bed. Sighing, he reached over to his nightstand and picked up his tuner, deciding that he should actually tackle this guitar problem.

***

**JB:** im bouta go over a friend's house 4 the first time ever and im uhhghghhh

**JB:** hella nervous

**JB:** in other news tho from what I know her brothers like hot as hell so i have that 2 look forward 2!!!!

**PR:** That's what you're concerned with?

**JB:** but of course

**JB:** u know that I've got the biggest heart eyes 4 u tho!!!!

**JB:** what r ur plans 2day, tho???!

**PR:** Nothing big. I'm going to be home all day and attempting to avoid any company that comes over. So, you know, the usual.

**JB:** go out and mingle!!!!!!

**PR:** No thank you. I'll just stick with you as my closest friend.

**JB:** IM HONORED

**JB:** I SHALL HOLD THIS POSITION VERY HIGHLY!!!!!

**PR:** Please do.

***

Jonah started his first time visiting Cassandra's house off right; he rings the doorbell nonstop until a very ruffled looking Cassandra opened the door glaring at him. She's wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants, and Jonah's glad that he didn't dress up more than sweatpants and a t-shirt of his own. He shrugged his shoulder, jostling his guitar case and shook the bag in his hand.

"May I come in, madam?" He asked, teasingly. Cassandra glared harder but moved out of the way to let him in. Before he could get very far, she pointed at the shoes lined up by the door. 

"Take off your shoes. My mom gets really anal about dirt tracked through the house, and I'm not about to deal with her attitude when she gets here later."

Jonah complied, toeing off his sneakers and looking around with wide eyes. It was about as normal as a house gets with picture frames on the walls and cheesy sayings like "live, love, laugh". He smiled to himself, looking back to Cassandra after a moment to find her watching him with an amused expression. 

"When you're done touring the Museum of Russo, drop off your bag and guitar in the living room. I need to do something in my room real quick, so feel free to look around a bit more. Peter's over in the kitchen whenever you feel like introducing yourself." With that, she turned tail and went upstairs. 

Turning and walking into the living room and saw the television set and couch. Even more pictures were on the walls. Stepping over a sleeping bag set up on the floor, he dropped his items on the couch and looked at the pictures on the walls seriously like a museum exhibit. There were funny ones of Cassandra and presumably her sister Juno when they were younger, one of her brother as a baby, pictures of family and probably her mother. 

Then, he came across school pictures. There was one of Juno in her senior photo, not smiling and looking into the camera with a serious look. There was a sticky note that read 'moody!!!' on it, and he chuckled to himself. Then, there was Cassandra's picture from what seemed like this year. She was smiling an obviously fake smile, and her bleach blonde hair was a bit shorter with her dark brown roots just beginning to grow out. Her makeup was nice, but her outfit (at least the shirt and jewelry) were obnoxious and mismatched, as always. Next up was-

Wait. 

_ Wait, that's- _

The next picture was of a boy with pale skin and freckles all over his cheeks, nose, and trailing down to his neck. He looked almost nothing like Juno or Cassandra, only sharing their kinda big, downturned noses, their general sharp facial features, and dark brown eyes. However, he had curly red hair (natural looking, too!) and slightly fuller lips and a cleft chin. He looked… softer, in a way, still with a bit of sharpness to him.

Either way you looked at him, he was definitely Cassandra's brother.

Either way you looked at him, this was Peter.

Either way you looked at him, this was  _ Peter Russo _ , as in  _ the  _ Peter Russo who bullies Jonah  _ on the daily _ .

_ He was Cassandra's brother. _

With this startling realization, Jonah near scrambled to the kitchen, silently begging for this to not be true, silently begging for her brother to be anyone but him,  _ please. _

Bursting into the kitchen caused the person standing at the stove to jolt and turn towards the doorway. Jonah had a few seconds to panic and soak in his features as he reached up to the glasses perched on top his head and pulled them down.

"Uh, hi. Cass, uh, Cass told me that-" the glasses come down, and the moment shattered like glass. Jonah stared at Peter and Peter stared at Jonah. Peter, with mused hair and big, clunky glasses with a smear of something on his cheek. He had an apron on that read "Kiss the Cook" and freckles more prominent than usual, highlighted on reddened cheeks.

Jonah scrambled to pull his phone out of his pocket and whipped open the camera app to take a picture of him. Peter was one second too late to cover his face, capturing who he was perfectly. Jonah hugged the phone to his chest protectively as his face crumbled into something downright infuriated.

"Peter, oh, Peter," he said, voice low and tone poisonous, something that he had never sounded like to Peter before. Peter took a wobbly step back. "Oh, you messed up. You messed up really,  _ really  _ badly."


	2. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonah and Peter talk and Jonah has an idea for how Peter can apologize to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time, no see! I've gone through hell and back since I last updated and I had this chapter half written for the longest time and I finally finished! Here's to hopefully updating semi consistently after this!

**JB:** hey, you're not online right now, but i need to rant a little

**JB:** my worst nightmare jhst came true. my bullies are more connected to my life than i thought b4 meaning im gonna have to deal with them more 

**JB:** i feel sick to my stomcah 

**JB:** theres literally no reason why im their target but every day they always come after me and i can handle it i can take it but i shouldnt have to deal with them i shouldnt have to deal with this

**JB:** but anyway 

**JB:** thank you for listening, I'll be in a better mood soon, so dont you worry!!

**JB:** ttyl!!!!

***

When Cassandra came downstairs, Jonah was sitting on the living room couch on his phone, messaging PR. Peter remained in the kitchen, although the clanging of pots was more prominent now. She didn't even manage to get a word out before Peter was asking her to go out and pick up some ingredients from the store. She tried to argue it, claiming that she had a guest over, but Peter wasn't having any of that and claimed that her going out would give him time to get to know her guest. She groaned and complained, but sooner rather than later, she was out the door having pulled on jeans and a jacket. 

With her gone, Peter came into the living room and sat on the couch, not looking at Jonah. Jonah shut off his phone and pulled his legs up to his chest. It felt like an elephant had quite literally sat on the couch between them, suffocating and crushing them. 

"Uh-" Peter started before Jonah cut him off.

"I'm not deleting the picture. I am  _ never  _ deleting the picture. Let's get that clear right now," he said sharply, glaring at Peter's photo on the wall as opposed to the boy himself. The couch creaked under Peter's nervous shifting.

"I… I thought you would say that."

"Good job, Einstein." Jonah hugged his legs tighter to himself. "Then, I'm sure you guessed this next part. You do anything,  _ anything _ , to mess with me, the photo gets out."

Jonah looked over just in time to see Peter wince. His face was bright red, and despite his clear discomfort, Jonah was scared that that threat wouldn't be enough to keep him in line.

"That photo gets out and I tell Cassandra all about your pretty little past," he added, and Peter somehow both paled and turned more red. He turned to look at Jonah, wide eyed.

"No, come on, you can't, you know she-"

"I know. You know. You knew, and you still chose to do what you did to me. You're the one in boiling hot water here, buddy."

Peter fell silent at that. He was sitting ramrod straight with his hands placed under him. His leg bounced nervously, and Jonah swallowed any fear he had in the face of his bully and stood up, walking over to the wall of photos again and walking the length while looking at them. Turning to look at Peter over his shoulder, he said, "Now would be when you would ask me what I want in return."

"What… what do I have to do to keep this, uh… a secret?" Peter asked, sounding more meek than Jonah even knew a person could sound. Call him sick, but this brought a small smile to his face that he was fast to tame. In all honesty, Peter deserved this fear that Jonah was dishing out to him especially after every single thing that he forced him through. 

This was an entirely new step in their dance in which Jonah took the lead, and he was excited to practice this step until they got it down perfectly.

"Good question! Well, I'd like you and your lackeys to leave me alone entirely," he responded simply, and Peter nodded. Jonah wasn't satisfied, however. "Actually, I want you guys to leave everyone you tortured alone." Once again, Peter nodded. Jonah turned to face him now, smile forming on his face. "I have one more request."

"Ask for anything."

"You and I become pals in school. You hang out with me,  _ publicly _ , and show everyone how you turned your favorite victim into your best friend, your G.B.F., if you will."

This time, Peter looked up at him and seemed as if he was going to shake his head 'no'. Jonah's gaze sharpened and he opened the picture on his phone. Peter bit his lip and slowly shook his head yes.

"Perfect, perfect. Now, weren't you cooking something? You should get back to that. Cass'll be back any minute now, and I want to tell her all myself about my new bestie Peter!" He clasped his hands and smiled sickeningly sweet. "Go on, now. Get busy."

By the time Cassandra got back, Peter was in the kitchen washing dishes and Jonah was sitting on the kitchen table plucking strings on his guitar. As promised, he was sure to tell Cassandra about how him and Peter had "absolutely kicked it off" and how he was now playing some music for him while he cooked. Jonah could tell he was starting to annoy Peter, so he just strummed louder and began to hum and make it worse for him until he was quite literally moments from exploding at Jonah.

Wow, Jonah could get used to this. He was already practically vibrating with excitement thinking about what he could get out of this deal in the long run.

This was going to be so much  _ fun _ .

***

The rest of the day passed by easily compared to the afternoon drama that occurred.

Peter made pasta that was eaten at the table, Juno showing up midway through and eating her food fast before rushing out the door. Despite her abruptness, she was kind to Jonah and introduced herself. After she left, Cassandra sighed and commented that she must be off to see her boyfriend or something, and Jonah shrugged, chewing.

As soon as Peter finished eating, he left the table and went upstairs. Distantly, Jonah could hear a door slam closed. Cassandra sighed again, although a little more annoyed sounding. "Don't let my siblings get to you. Peter's nervous all the time and Juno's just inconsiderate. On the bright side, you've got me to keep you company."

Jonah laughed in response, putting his plate in the sink and following her to the living room. For the next few hours, they flipped between playing video games, watching television, snacking, and more. Towards the end of the night, they went up to Cassandra's room and she sat on the ledge of her window, leaning out of it as she smoked a cigarette while Jonah lay on her bed, guitar ignored beside him and phone resting on his stomach, playing music. He sang along to it, drifting in and out of a daydream.

Eventually, he sat up and grabbed his guitar, switching off the music and playing his own songs. Well, actually, they were simply covers of songs he's heard on the radio, but he put a little twist on each of them, making them feel like his own in a way. He looked to the side and saw Cassandra smiling at him, and he smiled back, swaying a bit as he strummed.

A knock sounded out on the door, and Peter entered a second later. Jonah ignored his presence, continuing to play, and Peter seemed to have the same idea, walking past him and picking up the cigarettes from the desk and taking one out of the package, picking up the lighter as well and lighting his own cigarette. He leaned out the window as he smoked his own cigarette. Looking out of the corner of his eyes, Jonah could see the corners of Cassandra's mouth turn down sadly.

"Out of all my habits, of course this was the one you picked up," she commented, and Peter hummed. Jonah looked at the hand holding the stick and saw how much it shook.

"To be fair, I don't do it all that much. Just when I'm nervous," he responded, exhaling smoke and watching it curl in the air outside the window. Jonah slowed his playing to a halt and unpaused the music on his phone. Setting down his guitar, he propped his elbow up on his crossed leg and dropped his chin in his hand.

"I'll never understand why you like those things. I tried one and my mouth tasted like an ashtray for the whole day."

"Yeah, okay, keep talking, dude," Cassandra shot back, grinning. "It's not like you're any better with your weed and your tendency to eat anything and everything while writing really bad songs while high."

"Ouch, Cass, call me out harder, why don't you?" Jonah noticed the way Peter was watching him and made eye contact as he said his next sentence. "You've got a point, though, many would agree that I reek of weed all the time despite how much I make sure the smell doesn't cling to my clothes."

Peter looked away and out the window. Despite the low lighting in the room, Jonah could see how his face burned red with embarrassment. He groaned and laid back down on her bed, staring at her ceiling, and breathing in the smoke that the wind wafted back into the room on occasion. 

A silence fell in the room. Jonah didn't know if it felt the same for Cassandra, but it felt borderline suffocating on his end, probably due to Peter standing a few feet away. There were so many things between them that they had left without discussion that, honestly, Jonah knew that they should talk about them, but the mere thought rattled him. He had confidence, sure, but there's only so much he can take before he would crumble under the pressure.

He didn't want to say it, but he was glad that Peter just went along with his wishes and didn't feel the need to discuss anything else either.

"Pete, you okay?" Jonah heard Cassandra ask, knocking him out of his thoughts. He turned his head to see her looking at him with a concerned look on her face.

That was an expression that he had rarely ever seen on her.

You see, Cassandra wasn't someone that was easily approachable. She was tall, intimidating, and would fight anyone who she deemed a threat. Upon entering the high school that she was at now, she had scars and cuts all over her, bandages wrapping them and a sour expression on at every moment. She wasn't weak to vulnerabilities, and no one even came close to figuring out her kryptonite.

Except Jonah.

Jonah knew that her weakness was her brother when they first became close friends. She talked about him with a constant unwavering worry in her voice and always had on that fearsome expression. She got excited whenever he pushed past his shyness and opened up some. She was proud of him, and she wanted him to excel.

To be truthful, that was what made this situation all the harder for Jonah to swallow. Peter had had someone like Cassandra to look out for him, and he had still ended up the way he was. He had someone to consistently check on his well being and his social standing and even more and he still felt the need to find those weaker than him and rub their faces into the dirt as if they were not human.

If that was how someone with support and love turned out, it's a wonder how Jonah turned out the way that he himself was.

It made him all the angrier.

"M'okay," Peter had responded, staring out the window. Anyone could see how tense he was. His stance was rigid and his jaw was clenched, cigarette held in a near death grip. "I'm just tired."

Before Cassandra could say anything else, he put out the cigarette in her ash tray and exhaled the last of the smoke. Sighing, he looked at her and then at Jonah, and raised his hand as a goodbye before walking out the door and closing it behind himself.

"Something's wrong," Cassandra remarked, lip caught between her teeth, worry bitten. "Something's wrong, and he's not telling me. This really isn't good."

Jonah got up and leaned against the window sill. "Maybe he really is just tired?" He prayed that she just brushed it off like that, but really, knowing her, she wouldn't.

Cassandra grumbled to herself before continuing to smoke, and Jonah closed his eyes, leaning his head against the wall, and humming along to the music in a rather easy going fashion that was quite the juxtaposition to the anger and sadness brewing inside his chest.

***

**PR:** I'm sorry if I'm a bit absent for a while; life just got a bit complicated for me. Don't worry, though, I'll respond as much as I can!

**JB:** oh believe me, my life too

**JB:** ill make sure to always respond to my boo-bear too!! ♡♡♡

**PR:** …

**PR:** You're annoying.

**JB:** no!!! >:(. that's mean!!!

**JB:** c'mon, u know you want to call me a pet name too

**JB:** just do it!!!!

**PR:** ………

**PR:** Talk to you later

**PR:** sweetheart.

_ PR has gone offline. _

**JB:** aw, you're so cute!!!!

***

When Jonah found Peter that Monday, he was standing in front of the school in a jacket with frayed sleeves, eyes unfocused as he picked at the strings. 

Before Jonah left Cassandra's house the next morning, he made sure to exchange numbers with Peter. To her, he played it off as if he was getting the cute-and-probably-straight guy's number to make it less suspicious, and Peter made no comments about it himself. Late Sunday night, he told Peter to meet him in front of the school so they could walk in together, and, while Jonah didn't know how much of an impact that would make, he was sure it would make at least a semi-significant one.

_ Every _ junior knew who they were. Jonah was Peter's number one target, his main victim, his favorite plaything. Peter was large and in charge, standing at six feet tall and pure murderous intent written on his face. People he didn't pick on were scared of him; guys wanted to be him, girls wanted him kind of cliche. Jonah was the openly gay kid who was always so loud and jumpy and no one dared to pick on him besides Peter because everyone knows that his best friend is the terrifying senior girl Cassandra.

In short, they were infamous amongst their 11th grade peers.

"Hey!" Jonah called, walking up to Peter. Peter startled and looked up at him behind thick glass. "Good, you wore them. Just like I told you."

At that, Peter pushed up his glasses and said nothing. His face flushed, and he forced a smile. His freckles were fainter than they had been at Cassandra's house, and Jonah put together a few dots.

"Do you wear makeup?" He asked, tilting his head. Peter flushed deeper and nodded. "Why?"

At that, he remained silent for a few moments before speaking. "Why don't we, uh, head inside? Before the bell rings and everyone goes to their classes and stuff like that, you know?"

Jonah can tell by the way he fumbled through that sentence that he didn't want to reveal why. It didn't bother him too much- he was just trying to bother him and ruin his reputation, not get to know his whole back story. He was just interested, that's all.

So, with that, they entered side by side. At first, nothing happened. No one was interested in them, and Jonah had to wonder if it was because Peter didn't look like himself. Soon enough, though, Jonah felt the familiar burn of stares on his back and side of his head. He grinned and looked up at Peter, his expression a very forced smile looking like it was about to crack under the pressure. At that, Jonah grinned wider.

"C'mon, loosen up. This isn't  _ that _ bad, now is it?" He whispered, and Peter, once again, said nothing. He looked like he was holding his breath in.

When they reached Jonah's locker, Peter released his breath. The stares had eased ever so slightly, but they were still intense. Peter looked like he was sweating and also like he was about to pass out, and while this was intriguing to Jomah, he just passed it off as him worrying about what would happen if he didn't play along.

"You're not acting too friendly, Petey," Jonah said in a sing-song manner, leaning up on tip-toe and getting in Peter's face. Peter took a step back and smiled at him, the smile a little less forced looking.

"I don't really, don't really know what you want me to  _ do _ , exactly," Peter explains, tone hushed and making it seem like he was just making small talk to any outside.

"Well, just act like-" 

Jonah was cut off when he was shoved into the lockers, taken off guard and almost hitting his head. He was only saved by Peter's quick reflexes, his hand cradling the side of Jonah's head and pressed tight against the locker. Before Jonah had time to think about how that probably hurt, his collar is grabbed and he's pulled to his toes.

"Good morning, pretty boy," Garrett said, a growl tinting his voice. Jonah watched as Blake gave Peter a weird look and walked up to say something to him. A few things happened too fast, and before he knew it, he was back on his feet and Peter was blocking him from Garrett and Blake. Jonah looked up at the back of his head as he told them to get lost.

Now, call Jonah stupid. Call him thirsty, even, but you can't seriously say that you would not be even a little bit flustered by a tall, attractive guy protecting you, despite who that guy may be. Reasonably, he blushed a little and fought down that feeling with his anger.

Telling them to leave did nothing, however. Blake tried to approach and say something, and, apparently, Peter was having none of that. He wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders and began to walk down the hallway and away. Jonah composed himself and watched them go.

Peter seemed to remember something and he shouted back to Jonah over his shoulder. "See you late, J!"

"J?" Jonah mumbled to himself as he opened his locker. He laughed, thinking about his own messy thoughts and all that had happened during the ten minute interval of entering the school and ending up at his locker.

As he slammed his locker closed and began to head to his class, he couldn't help the smile that grew on his face and he thought about all the ways he could take advantage of this power he held over Peter Russo's pretty little head just like how he had this morning.

**Author's Note:**

> psst... it would be super cash money if u just so happened to hit kudos and comment... if u wanna


End file.
